Newly appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Fredrick Shava assumes office

The new Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Fredrick Shava has assumed duty today.

He kicked off his official duties by meeting his senior management team in the ministry led by the Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Manzou.

Shava was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at the State House in the capital Harare last month.

He has held various portfolios in government since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month following the death of Sibusiso Moyo who succumbed to COVID-19 related complications in January.

He previously served as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to China before he was appointed Zimbabwe’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

His appointment is one of several key cabinet appointments made few months ago by Mnangagwa following the deaths of three cabinet ministers, among them Joel Biggie Matiza and Ellen Gwaradzimba from COVID-19.

Shava resigned from his ministerial position in the 1980s after he was cited by the Justice Sandura Commission as among several ministers, who were engaged in shady vehicle deals in what became known as the Willogate Car Scandal.

-Zwnews